Well it has been a week, I guess it is about that time for ... Oh look! XP Magazine's Izzi Smith (Her only article, naturally) argues almost solely from personal experience about the travails of playing games while simultaneously having ovaries. Joy of joys, she proceeds to tell other women she has encountered how to act, using justification that amounts to "Because she said so."

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Itís not just ignorant men who are causing this but some women are just to blame as well Ė Iím sick of seeing girls posting pictures of themselves wearing nothing but an Xbox pad with a flirty caption. It angers me that females out there are trying to use something that has become such a big part of my life in such a trashy way that could just easily fuel the fact that women canít and shouldnít play games.

Due to these annoying skanks who are preying on the current trend of being a geek or a nerd or whatever, Iíll often get tarnished with the same brush when someone finds out I love to play games. Not so long ago I found myself at a friendís house-party where I overheard some guys discussing what their favourite Call of Duty was. Iím not a huge fan of CoD, yet Iíve played them, and I still will if Iím seeking some aimless FPS fun so I took it upon myself to join in and mention that mine was World at War, mainly because Iím a bit of a history geek and I enjoyed having a much more interactive experience of the second World War. I couldnít tell if the guys feared me or loved me and where I wouldíve preferred a conversation with a group of people about games and their opinions I was greeted with ďwtf, a girl who plays games?Ē and so had to return to a dull conversation with my friends about which 1D member theyíd most likely bang. The worst thing is, there is a huge demographic of female gamers out there and like masturbation, most people refuse to believe that ladies do it and itís too taboo to talk about.

Lovely language there, darling--it sounds like me. Do you kiss your avatar's lips with that mouth? If so, which?"

If you're female we are led to believe you're getting harassed constantly at every turn from the second you power on your PC or console. If you are male you're getting harassed because, thanks to guilt by association, all male gamers are misogynist pigs who are immersed in the art of sexual harassment from the womb.

The only safe people are trannies because no one wants to offend them by using the wrong pronoun and hermaphrodites because... WTF anyway.

The point Izzi is trying to make through her veil of zero training, no citation of source outside personal anecdote and a complete lack of talent, is that many women try to use their femininity and sexuality to their advantage within online communities. I do not doubt this for a moment. It does not, however, ultimately work. The cream rises to the top, heh--cream, and the top-tier teams will not differentiate beyond skill level and ability to assimilate.

It is like I said to my guild "I don't care if you have to hit the space bar with your Viagra-riddled cock or you pop a suction-cup joystick on your aeron chair and mount it like a Thai whore, if you do not hit the minimum dps you're off the team. I am better than you. You will never be good enough, thin enough, attractive enough. You should film your suicide note for YouTube and An Hero. Prove. Me. Wrong."

I have to restrain myself from critiquing this article. There are so many places where she definitively says something and contradicts herself later. Sometimes in the next sentence!

Like where she says the gaming industry is for men and because of that the female heroines will never change (from unrealistic hotty). Then the next sentence she give a few example of female role models in games.

Sheesh. I don't care if you're male or female don't undermine your own arguments if you're trying to make a point.

I have to restrain myself from critiquing this article. There are so many places where she definitively says something and contradicts herself later. Sometimes in the next sentence!

Like where she says the gaming industry is for men and because of that the female heroines will never change (from unrealistic hotty). Then the next sentence she give a few example of female role models in games.

Sheesh. I don't care if you're male or female don't undermine your own arguments if you're trying to make a point.

It has been my experience that a number of females significant enough for me to take note do this type of contradiction and it mainly boils down to not explaining themselves fully yet expecting people to understand.

"You just don't get it"

And when I would point out such contradictions in an attempt to get an explanation so that I would understand, the response would typically be that I was "nitpicking" or "emotionally creating drama" over it.

I didn't bother to read the article but I won't let that stop me from giving you all my best Jack Burton style wisdom.

Men and women are different. That's the way it is and you will never stop men from treating women different than they treat the guys and vice versa. Often men treat women better than they treat other guys. Often it's worse. But it's hardwired into us. And were you to somehow make it so we didn't treat women any different, I'm willing to bet that many (even most) women would be upset that we're not taking their differences into account.

Many of you have pointed it out in the past. Life is full of @holes (especially online.) No they shouldn't act the way they do but your best bet is still to avoid them. Unfortunately, avoiding them is like trying to run through a rain storm without getting wet. It's life. It's not fair and it never will be.

It has been my experience that a number of females significant enough for me to take note do this type of contradiction and it mainly boils down to not explaining themselves fully yet expecting people to understand.

"You just don't get it"

And when I would point out such contradictions in an attempt to get an explanation so that I would understand, the response would typically be that I was "nitpicking" or "emotionally creating drama" over it.

It's frustrating.

I have a better theory. It is better because it makes falsifiable predictions (About her coming body of work), it is well supported by evidence (The stuff I scribble on napkins), it is consistent with previous theories (Of mine), it is open to new evidence (If she ever writes again) and it is as parsimonious as possible. In other words, I am right and you are wrong, neener ... neener ... neener ...

The woman is a talent-less hack with little to no formal training in persuasive writing or sociological analysis. She was only given a voice because she strung enough paragraphs together to justify a page-add in .php and because XP-Mag sees possessing vagina as being an expert in vagina. I am an expert in vagina, particularly when I am an expert inside a vagina.

*Gargle Gargle Gargle--Sonar PING!*

Any woman, anytime, anywhere, in any weight class can challenge me to any game. One month training for us both. I will win. I will win, humiliate her and then fuck her boyfriend to prove dominance. And I kinda suck at video games. Still, my victory will be assured and until that changes on a general level girls are still going to be looked down upon when they lace up the bo-- ... er, control pad? Whatever, analogy got away from me, moving on and pretending it didn't happen. Unicorn flatulence.

*Fllllllllllrrrrrrrrrripspurtawoogah!*

And the truth of the matter is, it shouldn't be any other way. People, men or women, need to prove themselves if they want respect. Earn it and don't think anyone else got it any other way.

Games are fantasy and since unrealistic hotties are also fantasy, I just don't see the problem there.

If there are some women out there who want to appeal to male gamers by posting shots like the one above, more power to them.

Feminists are like gay rights groups. Just assimilate already or GTFO. I support equality but no one needs to know about how "special" you are.

I get reviled online any time I mention that my wife has big boobs and doesn't mind Dragon's Crown artwork at all. Hell, it got me banned from NeoGAF plus I was accused of being a 12 year old.

But if I were to loudly proclaim myself as a black Jewish gay male feminist, I'd be considered uber cool by the Internet and Jim Sterling. Kids these days with their liberal culture.

Heaven forbid you go on a site like NeoGAF and even HINT that your political views might be slightly conservative. Insta-ban!

It reminds me of the poor guys at Penny Arcade and the whole shitstorm with their "dickwolves" controversy where people were accusing them of supporting the "rape culture", as if such a thing even exists. These minority groups need to realize that some people are assholes and always will be assholes no matter how much they scream and shout. Unfotunately, these people only see and target the assholes and the rest of the population who just wants them to assimilate and STFU about their kinky personal habits or political views get caught in the crossfire.

See they "win" that argument by saying that your denial of its existence proves that you are ignorant of your own biases and part of the problem. Fun eh?

These people keep trying to "fix" life and you just can't. Sometimes you can make it better but you need to pick realistic battles with attainable goals, not just complain that water is wet and we should somehow force it to be dry.

See they "win" that argument by saying that your denial of its existence proves that you are ignorant of your own biases and part of the problem. Fun eh?

You can always tell when something is a presumptive fallacy when it is first introduced as part of an accusation. The declaration that "You support rape culture" was a thing before "Rape culture" was a thing.

My answer? I support rape culture. Because "No, please--I have a family!" is hot.

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These people keep trying to "fix" life and you just can't. Sometimes you can make it better but you need to pick realistic battles with attainable goals, not just complain that water is wet and we should somehow force it to be dry.

Iím sick of seeing girls posting pictures of themselves wearing nothing but an Xbox pad with a flirty caption.

And no-one's particularly happy with the bigoted dude-bros and the screaming tweens providing ammo for judgmental pricks, to demean or dismiss gamers for playing a few popular franchises. But as long as those games are still fun: whatever. Laugh at the clowns, ignore the fools and move on.

Anyone who'd judge you, not for your qualities but based on their preconceived notions of the things you own or hobbies you have, is not someone you should spend two seconds thinking about, let alone seeking validation or approval from.

Shorter: anyone who thinks you're a poseur because you're the same gender as some other person who posed nude with a gamepad is themself a fraud. Their poor judgment is certainly not evidence that the nude person was wrong in what they did, nor the reasons they did it invalid.

This stuff is just getting really old. In the beginning, perhaps there was a point to these articles. Perhaps, no probably there was/is some bias and mistreatment of LGBT/women, etc in gaming. But it has come to the point where they get to say the way they feel, but no one else is allowed to. I, as a dude, am not allowed to enjoy being a dude. If a game has a scantily-clad female, or a flirtation mission (Killer is Dead) I am not allowed to like it; or better yet, I should speak out against it.

NO.

I have just as much of a right to like something as someone else has to dislike it. I am allowed to like women...I AM A DUDE.

The thing is, unlike the people who constantly bitch about these things, I don't mind what LGBT/women do or don't like. Good for them if they think something is dumb. More power to someone for doing or believing whatever they want. But the second they try to tell me what I should or shouldn't do or like, they cross the line. I am me, and I am allowed to like whatever I want. Gaming is not ruled by a dictator, and this woman who wrote the article needs to understand that just because she got annoyed or offended by her personal experience, doesn't mean that the problem is universal. Everyone knows that there are tons of immature people playing games, dudes have to deal with it aplenty.

Also if people were intelligent, they would think a little deeper into these things. Games have been mostly made by men since their inception. If LGBT/women want games that are more in line with their views, they need to make games. Don't try to force people making games to change their vision to meet your beliefs, that's not fair either. I enjoy saving a "damsel in distress" ...I AM A DUDE.

I'm all for everyone being happy and having their own beliefs/lifestyles, I'm not some narrow-minded goon. But the people feeling mistreated need to handle their arguments a little more intelligently and think about the situation from all angles.

It has nothing to do with dickwolves or daniel tosh, but it's a real thing. And, frankly, it's unfortunate that only extremists bring it up, conflating it with their other grievances.

You think so? California lawyers use the SVP statute in line with the DSM-IV to have rapists locked away as a "Civil Commitment" with regular frequency. Several other states (which have passed Jessica's Law) do the same thing. If you're unfamiliar with the term civil commitment, think of it as a limbo between prison and life in the real world. All your freedoms, but limited ability to excercise them.

You think so? California lawyers use the SVP statute in line with the DSM-IV to have rapists locked away as a "Civil Commitment" with regular frequency. Several other states (which have passed Jessica's Law) do the same thing. If you're unfamiliar with the term civil commitment, think of it as a limbo between prison and life in the real world. All your freedoms, but limited ability to excercise them.

Back to the topic at hand.

That's pretty soft on rape. Why aren't we just shooting them in the head and selling the organs, again?

The one in Steubenville which was hushed up by being exposed on the the internet and where the perpetrators were caught, found guilty and sent to prison per the standard juvenile sentencing system? EGADS!

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Or, slightly wider net, Penn State?

The one where the coach Sandusky was investigated once victims came out, was caught, found guilty, sent to jail for life while his peers were made pariahs and the school lost scholarships, future play-ability and record of every win scratched away with a pencil eraser? MY NON-EXISTANT GOD!

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Or, wider net still, the US attitude toward prison rape?

The prisons where the above offenders are sent for rapin'?

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There's a legitimate problem with the way our culture thinks about rape and reacts to rape. The way, in some places, it's so easy for us to sweep that under the rug, blame the victim, etc.

You mean like the case in Montana where the victim committed suicide, destroying the state's case? YOU'RE RIGHT! I would prefer to live in a country where I do not have the right to confront and challenge my accuser, now that you mention it.

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It has nothing to do with dickwolves or daniel tosh, but it's a real thing.

Nope. Not even a little thing.

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And, frankly, it's unfortunate that white knights like me exist to bemoan all things without consideration to mitigating factors or other issues every time extremists bring it up, conflating it with their other grievances.

Fixed that for ya, pussy.

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Originally Posted by MadHiro

That's pretty soft on rape. Why aren't we just shooting them in the head and selling the organs, again?

Because organs are cheap when you live in a society that has runaway girls upset because their daddy raped 'em. Healthier batches from that, too.